1. Field
The described embodiments relate to electronic devices. More specifically, the described embodiments relate to using receipts to control the assignment of items of content to users.
2. Related Art
In the last decade, it has become commonplace for individual users to use electronic devices such as personal computing devices and smart phones to electronically purchase items of content such as digitally-rendered books, music, or video and applications from content providers using electronic networks such as the Internet. As the technology behind electronically providing content matures and electronic devices become more ubiquitous, businesses and institutions have also begun to use the technology for supplying content to their employees, students, etc. For example, businesses can provide work-related applications to employees for use within the scope of their employment or schools can provide applications and digitally-rendered books for use by students.
However, because many content providers are configured to complete transactions with individual users, the mechanisms provided to enable purchasing entities (e.g., businesses, institutions, etc.) to purchase and assign/transfer items of content to users may not provide the level of control over the items of content that the purchasing entities desire. For example, one existing technique to enable a purchasing entity to provide an item of content to a user involves the purchasing entity purchasing a license for the item of content and receiving a token (e.g., a redemption code, a digital certificate, etc.) for the item of content from the content provider. Next, the purchasing entity forwards the token to the user to whom the item of content is to be assigned. The user then uses the token to complete a purchase transaction with the content provider through the user's personal account, after which the user “owns” the item of content outright. Because the user owns the item of content, the purchasing entity has no control over the user's use of the item of content. For example, assuming that the item of content is an application assigned to an employee by an employer, because the employee owns the application, the employee can freely use the application, even after the employee leaves employment with the employer.